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shortridge

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Everything posted by shortridge

  1. According to the Census Bureau (2006 population estimates): "White persons": 80.1 percent "Black persons": 12.8 percent "Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin": 14.8 percent "White persons not Hispanic": 66.4 percent # # # It seems like any local units that wanted to could have run programs like this in the past without a special National initiative. Just make sports a central part of your program - say, half and half. There's nothing that says you can't customize to meet local needs. What intrigued me was the mention of allowing young girls into the program. Do I hear
  2. ...and stole baby coach wheels to make go-kart. I guess stealing from sisters doesn't count? :-)
  3. I love the early Scouting games, and am envious of folks who can actually do the winter/snow activities. I'm from a region where we get maybe six inches of snow all winter - and that's with a lot of luck. Our Klondike Derby sleds just, er, glide over frozen ground and grassy stubble. It is a constant source of amazement to me how much the older Scouting manuals emphasized stalking, tracking and trailing - and how that's mostly vanished today. Especially given BP's emphasis on those skills, it seems to leave a huge hole in the organized program.
  4. There's a big difference between wood fires or candles and those using chemicals of some sort. And just because something is for a ceremony doesn't mean we throw out all our common sense. Does this sound like a good idea? Not to me. The stories posted and linked here about how the neckerchief can catch fire, how it stuck to one guy's boot - those show how this particular stunt can easily get out of control. Compare that to a campfire. We know how the average wood fire is going to behave under general circumstances. You don't have to worry about mixing wood types incorrectly, unlike w
  5. Maybe it's just the curmudgeon in me, but I like being able to look at a person's flap and tell more or less instantly which lodge he or she is with. (Staring at someone's chest to try to decipher the thick embroidered writing isn't the politest move, particularly when it's that of a female Arrowman.) The proliferation of commemorative flaps kind of negates that. Problem is they're often MUCH snazzier and sharper-looking than the standard lodge flap, which increases the attraction. And if you don't want to get your "real" flap stained or damaged, you'll wear one of the "others." # #
  6. Move to the South, cause grits makes e'ry tang cheaper. So do y'all serve grits at summer camp?
  7. Big doesn't have to mean tall, does it? If this Scouter's goal is to develop the pioneering skills of the Scouts in the unit, a series of 5-foot-11-inch towers connected by bridges and walkways of various types would provide much the same benefit as a 30-foot-tall tower. You also get more people enjoying the end result, climbing and clambering over the connected structures, rather than one person at a time inching up a single tall tower on belay. That would seem the simplest way to meet M-64, as I read it. Resident camp standards may not be required for unit or district events,
  8. (Please forgive the length.) That is a significant difference in price ($62 per day vs. $44 per day at the prices you quote), but I doubt it's as simple as a stubborn volunteer. There are a lot of factors that go into running and pricing a camp, and your DE (NCS administration trained, right?) should be more than conversant with those. He shouldn't just agree with you, he should explain why it's that way. Questions to consider: Is this a Webelos- or Cub-only camp, or are there also Boy Scout programs running simultaneously or before/after? Is it staffed by paid employees or volunteer
  9. John-in-KC, I agree with you on the mystique and mystery issue, but the fact remains that you can't bar anyone from observing a ceremony or inductions procedure. Parents who are worried about hazing, who've read all the horrible things that have been said about the OA or who have religious concerns have a pretty valid reason to insist on observing a ceremony. That said, I'd wager that the number of non-Arrowmen who've done that over the years could be counted in the very low digits. I've absolutely nothing to back this up, but that's my gut instinct. It just occurred to me
  10. If alcohol were purely a safety issue it would be prohibited under any condition in scouting, but it's not. Don't know if this warrants a spinoff, but has anyone ever been to an adults-only Scouting event where alcohol was served? Champagne and cookies at Roundtable? Budweiser at a council committee meeting? Jack Daniels at Wood Badge? As a Scout, I attended a Roundtable or two as OA chapter chief. So alcohol would have been barred there, since I was a youth. Unless the council meeting or training session were held away from the council HQ or camp, it would have been barred there. So
  11. I'd buy it at 50 percent, short-sleeved shirt only. In the time B.S. (before switchbacks), I wore shorts into November and beyond. You couldn't pay me enough to wear those de la Renta pants again.
  12. Beavah - Thanks. The water-chugging item kind of puzzled me, too, but I get it now. BW - I always thought that the alcohol ban WAS a safety issue. I wouldn't want people even slightly under the influence to be responsible for my child. Hiking while intoxicated could be just as dangerous as driving in certain situations, as mental and physical reaction times both slow. The confusion between safety and image probably arises from the fact that the publication is titled "Guide to Safe Scouting" and refers to "the real need to protect members from known hazards." I'd read that literally,
  13. Not to discount the other advice here, but keeping last names offline isn't a perfect solution, and parents who think it is are sadly misinformed. As a newspaper reporter, I've tracked down people - teenagers and adults alike - on Facebook, mySpace and blogs even when they just list their first name. Having their hometown goes a long way, though knowing even a bit of information about the person really helps.
  14. Oh, yeah, it works. Might take time to get 'em trained, but I've done it myself under the circumstances you've described - loud dining hall or campfire, Scouts' attention on other things, lots of talking and noise. The sign goes up, and you can just see the silence spreading in concentric circles from the sign-er. Sometimes it comes down to one or two Scouts or leaders still jabbering away, and they only realize it with the collective glare focused on them. Kind of amusing.
  15. Check out some of the ideas on this thread: http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=194237#id_195126
  16. Why not? The bond as fellow Arrowmen is lifelong (assuming you keep your dues paid up! :-) ) but lodges can easily change. Sounds like a great way to build some intra-lodge fellowship, and maybe even learn a few things. Can you clarify if this is the policy at your lodge? Most everyone in this forum knows this, but it bears repeating: Ceremonies are not secret. They also are not restricted to Arrowmen - any non-member parent, guardian, religious leader, Scout leader, etc. can attend for the asking. So it seems ridiculous that a lodge would treat its ceremonies as private and bar othe
  17. GW - not only terrorists, but aimless daredevil delinquent thieves! I'm surprised there's still talk about this type of thing after the deadly "ring of fire" incident at the New Jersey Boy Scout camp earlier this summer. Playing with fire - even when it's just adults - goes against everything Scouting teaches. When it gets out of control, you can't call it back. At my AOL ceremony, the OA rep (in full regalia) bent down too close to a candle and caught his feather headdress on fire. That was exciting enough.
  18. High-energy ray guns... cool. Where do I sign up for my tricorder and phaser (set to stun)? Just my opinion, but I don't see too many people leaving Scouting because paintball and laser tag are (was?) prohibited. If a Scout is that into it, all he has to do is invite members of the patrol or troop individually for an explicitly non-Scouting paintball game. Simple enough to do. # # # On a GSS tangent, I find it interesting that there is specific guidance on monkey bridges, but not on other types of bridges that could be equally dangerous if built incorrectly or with improper mate
  19. Lisabob and others are exactly right. Newspaper delivery in most areas today is an adult job. Get up at 3 a.m., seven days a week, and drive around for a few hours tossing papers. Not realistic for kids unless you're in a suburban area or small town with an afternoon newspaper - which are almost dead today. Outfitting a troop with camping gear is a monumental, budget-busting task without proper community or CO support, even if you go the cheap-cheap route. You can make your own gear, but how many kids will have the motivation or ability to sew tents, tarps and packs? How many parents
  20. Boy Scouts, blazing a new trail, reach out to Delaware Hispanics / Recruiters hired to show community it's not just 'a program for the rich' Marc Garduno faces a couple of obstacles as he sets out to recruit Boy Scouts from Delaware's Hispanic community. First, the Scouts' traditional uniform, with pressed pants and insignia, might be off-putting to immigrants from countries where dictatorships thrive. Second, the Scouts' Norman Rockwell image has for decades sent a message that it's a club for well-to-do whites. Statistics show that of about 3 million Scouts nationwide, 70 perc
  21. Shortridge, there are some advisor positions that are expressly detailed in the OA literature. Right, and that was precisely the point I was trying to make. There is no generic "OA Adviser" position; each is specific to the youth member you're advising. Even a lodge adviser is substantially different from a chapter adviser. As a further (but poor) example: A Scoutmaster and Cubmaster are both Scout "masters," but no one would group them together. # # # Point of inquiry, for the legalists out there: Since the adviser position draws its position-ness from the youth officer (l
  22. in training it had been recommended to him that SM Conferences should not be sitting down, face to face, rather it should be an informal conversation while doing something else, say a walk or something like that. ... also recommend (a) out of hearing range but (b) well within sight of the rest of the troop or patrol.
  23. Congrats. I did that section in 1998 and had a great time. While each camp and instructors vary, here's my basic advice: * Ask lots of questions. There'll be a great mix of people, some with no experience and some with lots. I'd taught outdoors skills badges for four years before I went, and still learned a ton - much of it from my fellow directors. * Take lots of notes. Bring several pens and several notepads. Small reporters'-style pads are best - long, slim and fit in a back pocket for when you're moving around. * Bring your own ideas. Got an oddball notion for a program? Odd
  24. Eagle92 - I like the callout ceremony idea to involve more Arrowmen and show their strength and numbers. Is there any follow-through after the callout (do the "sponsors" help guide their candidates to prepare for the Ordeal, are they elangomats, etc.), or is it just a ceremonial thing? If the former, I'd be very careful about symbolic progression.
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